Microscopic simulation for virtual worlds with self-driving avatars

Virtual worlds are a good platform to perform driving behavior experiments among a big group of people at low cost and high level of realism. Since driving behavior is highly influenced by the behavior of surrounding vehicles it is crucial to establish a realistic environment for the driving experiment. Thus, the avatars´ vehicle needs to be recognized by the simulation and hence by the other simulated vehicles. In this paper we are introducing a microscopic simulation model that has this feature and allows users to anticipate as drivers in the simulation. Using virtual worlds with self driving avatars allows studying driving behavior in various situations under stable laboratory conditions. The virtual environment, allows the recreation of various scenarios from highways to city traffic under various traffic and environmental conditions.